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Television, Prosocial Behavior and
Television can have a variety of effects on the social behavior of its viewers depending on the content of the programming, characteristics of the viewer, and the context of the viewing environment. Although much attention has been focused on the effects of violent or antisocial content, many have noted the positive benefits of viewing programs designed to teach positive life lessons. Prosocial lessons are those that are designed to enhance children and adolescents' social, emotional, and moral development. Research indicates that children can just as effectively learn prosocial behavior from prosocial content as they do antisocial behavior from antisocial content. Various factors influence the degree to which prosocial content on television influences children's social behavior. Effects are strongest when the behavior that is modeled is salient, clearly portrayed, and can be easily incorporated into a child's everyday interactions. Furthermore, adults and teachers who use materials to extend children's learning can maximize the positive benefits of viewing television designed to teach children important social lessons.
Marie-Louise Mares and Emory Woodard systematically examined 34 studies that focused on the effects of prosocial acts on television on children and adolescents' social behavior. Mares and Woodard focused on four categories of prosocial behavior that have been studied most extensively: altruism, positive interaction, self-control, and antistereotyping.
Altruism
Studies of altruism often include programs that focus on sharing, donating, and comforting others in times of need. Mares and Woodard found that compared to other forms of prosocial content, portrayals of altruism appear to have the strongest effects on children's behavior. One reason is that the studies are set up as controlled laboratory experiments that ask children to explicitly transfer behavior from the screen to the lab. Studies of altruism typically find that when children view portrayals of a model acting generously (e.g., donating prize tokens to charity), they are more likely to donate tokens that are given to them to charity compared to children who watch a model behave selfishly (e.g., cashing in winnings for a big prize) or in a neutral manner.
Positive Interactions
Several studies of positive interactions (e.g., friendly play, conflict resolution) have been conducted in naturalistic settings. For example, Lynette Friedrich and Aletha Huston-Stein found that children who had viewed Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood exhibited more friendly behavior in the school playground compared to those who viewed neutral content. Studies of Barney and Friends indicate that children learn about cooperation and friendship through viewing the show.
Self-Control and Persistence
Studies of self-control include programs that focus on resistance to temptation, obedience to rules, and persistence at a task. The self-control studies are often set up as lab experiments similar to the studies on altruism. Many studies conducted in the 1970s indicated that children who view models who are able to resist temptation (e.g., resisting playing with a forbidden toy, eating forbidden food) are more likely to demonstrate self-control compared to children who view models who indulge in forbidden activities. In a more recent study, children who viewed 20 episodes of Dragon Tales, a show designed to encourage children to pursue challenges, more frequently chose to pursue challenging tasks, compared to those who were not exposed to the series.
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- Desensitization Effects
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- Fear Reactions
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- Schemas/Scripts, Aggressive
- Sexualized Violence
- Television Violence
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- UNESCO Violence Study
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